three have soft, smooth power delivery
down low that’s easy to control. All can be
brought to life instantly with a little clutch
and throttle.

Another near stalemate between thethree is fuel mapping. All three are excel-lent. We never would have thought itwas possible for street-legal bikes to befree of EFI glitches, but here we are. The350s don’t cough, sputter or flame out.Keep in mind that they are tuned to workin stock condition, and any modificationcan upset that delicate balance. Thisespecially holds true for the KTM andHusky. We know of several people whohave attempted hop-ups and only createdtrouble. If you replace the muffler with anaftermarket part or remove the reed fromthe intake, the bike backfires, hiccups andstalls. Only with remapping can this befixed. The Beta isn’t quite as delicate. Youcan install an aftermarket exhaust withoutdire results, but the gains are debatable.THE WHIP FACTORIn weight, the KTM holds a clear advan-tage. On Dirt Bike’s incrediblyaccurate and beautifullyappointed scale, the EXC-Fweighs 241 pounds with-out fuel. The FE350 weighs246 pounds, thanks mostlyto the rear suspension andlinkage. The 350RR-S weighs263 pounds. Some of thatcan be explained away by thekickstarter and the lead-acidbattery. The rest is all overthe bike. The Beta is a lightweight by thestandards that we used to use in the dual-sport world, but the KTM and the Huskyhave changed the game. It makes a bigdifference. The extra 20 or so poundsaffects the 350RR-S in almost every way.It makes the bike feel larger and clumsier.It affects how well it climbs, how well itdescends and how easily it turns. Boththe KTM and the Husky have a small butnoticeable advantage in overall handling.The Beta regains points because it hasmore dirt-worthy suspension. All threebikes are soft compared to full-timedirt bikes, but the Beta isn’t toofar off the mark for genuine trailriding. The bike maintains afairly level attitude without